The elderly and the young share a common problem in that members of each group have difficulty with fine motor skills. For the young, an underdeveloped nervous system and muscular system create challenges in fine motor movement. For the elderly, a deteriorating nervous system and muscular system create challenges in fine motor movement. These challenges to fine motor movement caused problems in everyday activity, including eating.
Holding a spoon steady is difficult when fine motor movement is challenged. This causes the user to spill food all over the table. This is particularly challenging when the food is in liquid form, such as soups.
Utensils have been designed to address this problem. For example, some spoons utilize walls and covers protruding from the perimeter edge of the bowl the spoon. These walls, although presumably effective in preventing spillage, are a hindrance to the eating experience, either because the spoon no longer fits in the mouth comfortably or because it is difficult to scoop up the food.
Utensil handles can also be a challenge to those having difficulty with their fine motor skills. In particular, utensil handles tend to be an elongated stems. This may make it difficult for a user to hold and balance the utensil. In addition, since the handles tend to be elongated stems, utensils simply rest flat on a tabletop with portions of the utensil that enter the mouth being exposed to whatever germs the utensil picks up from the tabletop.
For the foregoing reasons there is a need for a utensil that is easy to control, use, and manage.